Dr Peter Emerson

After qualifying as a doctor at Cambridge University and St Georges Medical School, service in the RAF and various training posts in London and the USA, Dr Emerson was appointed Consultant Physician at Westminster Hospital.

There Peter latterly became the last Dean of the Westminster Medical School. Other appointments have included Consultant Physician to the Royal Navy and Vice President and Senior Examiner at the Royal College of Physicians.

Special interests have been in thoracic medicine and the application of mathematics and information technology to the making of logical clinical decisions. Relaxation has included ballooning, scuba diving, playing good tennis and detesting opera.

Dr Emerson is the longest serving member of the Medical Advisory Committee.


John Collins

John Collins trained in Medicine at Guy's Hospital and in postgraduate posts at St Mary's, Westminster and the Royal Brompton Hospitals.  His first appointment was as Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer in Medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital 1973 - 1976, and he was then appointed as Consultant Physician to the Royal Brompton Hospital 1976 until 2003.  From 1979 he was also Consultant Physician in General and Respiratory Medicine at St Stephen's, the Westminster and subsequently Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals until 2003.

He was Medical Director of he Chelsea & Westminster Hospital from 1994 to 2003.  He has served as Chairman of the Professional Standards Committee of the Royal College of Physicians from 2001 - 2005, and has played ac active part in Royal College affairs.  He has been Senior Medical Advisor to the Benenden Healthcare Society from 1979 to date, and for the last 3 years has been Consultant Physician in General Medicine and Respiratory Medicine at Benenden Hospital and in private practice at the Lister Hospital London.  He is currently Director of Education and Professional Development at Benenden Hospital having served as Medical Director before.

Research interests have covered the fields of pulmonary physiology, pharmaco-dynamics of asthma, and viral diseases.  For 25 years he was Director of the Fibreoptic bronchoscopy service at the Royal Brompton Hospital.  He has published 2 monographs over 20 chapters, and 150 peer reviewed papers.  From 1987 to date he has been Group Medical Advisor to Smith and Nephew plc Worldwide.  He has been an active participant and speaker for the British Association of Medical Managers. 

John's outside interests include the Italian language, fly fishing, bricklaying,  painting, and he is the world’s slowest student of classical guitar, plays low standard tennis.